Squeeze’s Chris Difford and Glenn Tilbrook are one of rock’s greatest songwriting tandems, with Tilbrook crafting indelible melodies around Difford’s emotionally detailed lyrics. Here Difford digs into the evolution of his and Tilbrook’s partnership. When Difford hands over his lyrics, does he suggest a musical direction to Tilbrook? Did Difford know that “Pulling Mussels (from the Shell)” would be a rocker, “Labelled with Love” a country song, “Slaughtered, Gutted and Heartbroken” an old-timey shuffle? Was he surprised that "Hourglass" became their biggest hit? When they write together now, is there tension over tackling more political topics versus pursuing Difford’s brand of personal storytelling? Difford also discusses singing in octaves and taking the occasional lead, the impact of producers such as John Wood and Elvis Costello (and the song he co-wrote with Costello), why so many keyboardists joined and left Squeeze and the reasons the band broke up and regrouped the first time.
